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Upside down gardening, for leggy plants like tomatoes, saves space, eliminates weed problems, thwarts most pests and diseases and helps promote greater air circulation and sun exposure for your plants. Instead of spending money for a commercial upside down planter, make one yourself with a 2-liter plastic bottle.

1

Cut the bottom of the plastic bottle off at the point where it begins to taper with a sharp knife. Line the edge of the cut you just made with duct tape to prevent the plastic from stretching or breaking once you've hung the planter.

2

Punch four evenly spaced holes through the duct tape around the container about 1 inch beneath the edge. Remove the bottle lid and poke a few additional drainage holes around the bottle opening with a sharp knife.

3

Choose a young tomato plant with a longer, leggy stem, and gently thread the top of the plant through the bottle opening. Position the plant with the root ball as close to the top of the container (the bottom of the bottle) as possible, making sure that the first true set of leaves remains outside the bottle opening. Since your tomato will be growing upside down, positioning the root ball near the top will give the roots plenty of space to grow downward.

4

Fill the container an inch from the top with a mixture of potting soil and compost as you hold the root ball in place. Top the soil with a layer of mulch to help prevent the soil from drying out.

5

Cut two lengths of twine a little more than twice as long as you want your planter to hang. Thread the first length in one punched hole and out the adjacent one, pulling the ends until they're even. Repeat with the other length, and tie all four ends together securely.

6

Hang your container in an area that receives full sunlight. Water your tomato plant any time the soil surface dries out, probably every day during warm summer months. Fertilize the plant with a slightly diluted water-soluble tomato fertilizer during a deep watering every one or two weeks once your tomatoes begin to bloom.

Things You Will Need

2-liter bottle

Knife

Duct tape

Hole punch

Young tomato plant

Potting soil

Compost

Mulch

Twine

Tomato fertilizer

Tips

Choose a light-colored plastic bottle to prevent the roots from overheating.

Choose a small, indeterminate variety of tomato for your planter. Indeterminate plants have more flexible stems and produce fruit continuously, so they're less likely to weigh down your planter.

For larger tomato varieties, make planters out of 5-gallon buckets or cat litter containers.

Warning

If you notice roots growing out of the bottom of your container, the plant has outgrown the 2-liter bottle and should be replanted in a larger container.

About the Author

Lydia Stephens began writing professionally in 2009. She has written online for Nile Guides, SheKnows.com and various other websites and has been published in "Stringing Magazine" and "Xiamen Wave." Stephens played competitive soccer for 19 years, has been weight lifting since 2007 and enjoys running, biking and sailing. She has a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of Texas.